Hydrology

Hydrological research examines how climate change intensifies extremes, including droughts, floods and heat-related impacts and how this changes water stores and fluxes in soils, surface water and groundwater. This work focuses on understanding the drivers of these events and improving prediction tools that help society anticipate and manage rapidly changing available water resources. It also evaluates the effectiveness of land-based mitigation options, such as nature based solution, and supports the development of adaptation strategies for changing water resources and water quality. Long-term observational datasets, modelling tools and field base experiments underpin this research, providing essential evidence for assessing climate impacts on water systems and informing environmental planning and policy.

Supervisory Directory:

Supervisor	Host Organisation	Research Interests
Dan Lapworth	British Geological Survey	Water quality, drivers of AMR, emerging contaminants, impacts of climate change on recharge processes, assessing impacts of nature based solutions including conservation agriculture. Understanding surface-groundwater interactions and implications for management of water resources Water resources in Africa and Asia – groundwater recharge, vulnerability and impact of anthropogenic pressures including over-pumping Tracking microbiological contamination in drinking water sources
Donald John MacAllister	British Geological Survey	Groundwater in low- and middle-income countries, especially in the context of poverty reduction and climate resilience Groundwater resilience in highly exploited aquifer systems, particularly in South Asia Groundwater, rural water supply and WASH, particularly in East and Southern Africa Mountain hydrology and hydrogeology and it’s role in downstream groundwater resources Geothermal energy, particularly minewater geothermal for community heat Hydrogeophysics, particularly self-potential
Christopher Vane	British Geological Survey	My research interests span 2 broad themes: • Tracking organic chemical pollutants in soils, sediments and waters with a focus on characterisation of legacy urban/industrial pollutants, emerging contaminants and agricultural pollutants using targeted GC/MS, LC/MS. Projects are focused on contaminant time-trends in Thames (east end of London) and Milford Haven estuaries as well as contaminant mapping in informal settlements (slums) in Nairobi. • Natural carbon sources and sinks across a continuum of coastal-transitional (marsh/mangrove wetland) to terrestrial (woodland/ombrotrophic peat bog) systems. Assessment of C stock, stability and source using bulk geochemical Rock-Eval pyrolysis and molecular extractable lipids as well as structural biopolymers. This research-line also includes an interest in burning events (fire), storms, as well as a bottom-up approach to soil/sediment chemistry.
Iain Robertson	Swansea University	My main research interest is the application of chemical techniques to solve environmental problems; it is a journey that has taken me from chemistry though archaeology, botany, geology and geography. I have focused upon achieving a better understanding of natural climatic variability through the determination of stable isotopes in tree-rings, and the use of amended biochar to encourage phytoremediation and reduce environmental pollution from abandoned metal mines. Recently we’ve developed a low-cost technique to remove nano- and micro-plastics from polluted water.
Dr Emilia Urbanek	Swansea University	I am a soil scientist interested in the role of soils in mitigation of the climate change. My research is focused on understanding the relationship between water availability and soil carbon dynamics, especially when soil becomes water-repellent due to fire or prolonged dry spells. I’m interested in understanding how the addition of soil amendments (e.g. crushed basalt, biochar) affects soil hydrology, soil GHG emissions and other physical soil properties.
Dr Geertje van Keulen	Swansea University	Microbial adaptation in soil, esp in hotspots leading to surface modifications affect soil water repellency at the macroscale Understanding the chemical ecology of natural product biosynthesis (antibiosis) in soils Bio(nano)modulation of wettability of natural, microbial and manufactured surfaces Microbial adhesion to surfaces Microbial diversity and community dynamics in wet leisure sector settings Urban environmental pollution and antimicrobial and metal resistance patterns Standards development for products targeting biofilms
Cai Ladd	Swansea University	I am interested in scale-dependent biogeomorphic feedbacks that govern coastal wetland resilience and restoration. I use hydrodynamic and sediment flux monitoring, environmental sensor development, spatial statistics, remote sensing, and archival data to conduct my research. I am interested in applied science, and use my research to inform policy, support decision-making, and deliver evidence (especially on the role of coastal wetlands in storing and sequestering blue carbon).
Ruth Godfrey	Swansea University	I am an Associate Professor in Analytical Chemistry at Swansea University with over 20 years’ experience in Separation Science, Mass Spectrometry and Spectroscopy. My research supports the R&D of multinational companies, government agencies and SMEs, and focuses on analytical technologies and method development for medical/chemical analysis, with most recent work concerning environmental medicine (linking pollution with environmental and human health), mass spectrometry and sample preparation technology development.
Professor Bernd Kulessa	Swansea University	My research focuses on the use of applied geophysics to contribute to our understanding of the response of the world’s ice masses to past, present, and future climatic change, and to address related scientific problems of anthropogenic impact such as ground hazards and contamination. I combine fieldwork, laboratory work, and forward and inverse modelling, seeking novel developments to integrate multidisciplinary subsurface data, e.g. through joint inversion or stochastic / Bayesian modelling.
Yunqing Xuan	Swansea University	I am an associate Professor and Co-lead of the Modelling, Data and AI in Climate Action of the Zienkiewicz Institute, Swansea University. More than 20 years of research experience and leadership in Water and Environmental Engineering specialising in hydrometeorological modelling and hydroclimatic extremes. I am Scientific partner of the UK Met Office in climate model/NWP development and applications.
Anne Verhoef	University of Reading	Environmental physics, applications and theory; biophysical interactions and feedbacks in the soil-plant-atmosphere system; land surface/ecological modelling
Shuang-Hua Yang	University of Reading	I have completed a number of research projects in air pollution monitoring and localisation, flooding disaster forecasting, and other disaster management. I have invented and commercialised long distance low power wireless communication technology and have a wide range of applications.
Kevin Hodges	University of Reading	Analysis of storms in climate and numerical weather prediction and their impacts.
Jess Neumann	University of Reading	Hydrology – including (natural) flood risk management, community preparedness and early-warning, catchment scale approach. Hydrology – using citizen science for measuring water quality, sewage overflows and extreme weather. Landscape ecology – mapping landscape change, species community analysis, applied ecology (in-the-field survey)
Jonathan Dale	University of Reading	I have a background in coastal and estuarine science, focusing predominantly on wetland management, evolution and restoration. My wider interests include estuarine hydrology and sediment dynamics, the factors influencing the functioning of habitats such as saltmarsh and mudflat, and the approaches taken to coastal management more generally. I am also interested in the development and application of high resolution remote sensing methods to evaluate spatial and temporal trends and changes, including the use of UAVs.
Chuang Wen	University of Reading	My research interests includes Low-carbon energy systems, Smart Cities, Built Environment, Sustainable mobility and Intelligent computing.
Joy Singarayer	University of Reading	I use modelling approaches to help understand of the mechanisms of past, present, and future climate and environmental changes, with particular interest in land surface changes (anthropogenic and natural) and their interactions with climate. I have expertise in climate modelling, vegetation modelling, and recent forays into agent-based model approaches of the coupled human-environment system. Recent work focusses on South America and Africa.
Nancy K Nichols	University of Reading	Data assimilation
Kieran Hunt	University of Reading	I’m interested in using data-driven/numerical/dynamical methods to better understand and predict extreme weather events in the tropics, especially India and the Himalaya.
Emily Black	University of Reading	Variability and change in the hydrological cycle Predictability on sub-seasonal to seasonal time scales Climatic extremes Rainfall monitoring Climate services African climate